


Enzo's

by jopper_is_endgame



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Jim "Chief" Hopper Lives, My First Fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 06:01:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20595887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jopper_is_endgame/pseuds/jopper_is_endgame
Summary: Just a short little dialogue between Joyce and Hopper at Enzo's.





	Enzo's

Despite all he had endured on July 4th, Hopper found himself at Enzo’s at 7 o’clock on Friday night. Though he was out of harms way, Hopper found himself almost as anxious as he felt fighting the Russian Terminator. He was there waiting for Joyce hoping he wasn’t going to get stood up again. Suddenly, he felt his stomach dip at the memory of the last time he was at Enzo’s and how humiliated he felt sitting there alone. So humiliating, in fact, he downed several glasses of wine and beyond that, the rest of his night was a sad blur. His thoughts came back to the present when he saw movement from the front doors. 

Joyce Byers entered the restaurant as hesitantly as she often entered places that weren’t her own house. Though she’d gotten used to the constant stares from everybody in Hawkins, regardless of if she was walking down the street or at the grocery store, it still stung. So she kept her guard up and approached situations with caution. 

Just like how she was keeping her guard up as she entered Enzo’s. Just like how she was going to keep her guard up during her date with Hopper. 

She wouldn’t admit it, but maybe she was wearing her work clothes for a reason. Maybe she hadn’t done much to her hair for a reason. Maybe she was a little late for a reason. 

But as she saw Hopper’s face light up as their eyes met, she suddenly wished she had taken their “date” more seriously. It hit her how hard she wanted this this to work. “This” being their budding relationship. 

He stood up as she approached. 

Her voice waivered but she was hopeful he didn’t notice. She didn’t want to screw this up anymore than she already had. 

“Hey, Hop. Sorry I’m late.” 

“Not a problem, Joyce. And please, don’t feel nervous.” He gave her a quick hug and peck on the cheek. 

Crap, she thought. He had noticed. 

They took their seats and she shot him a quick smile as she noticed the bottle of Smirnoff sitting on their table. Alexei. The sight made her chest hurt. Pain felt for the person she briefly knew. But mixed with the pain was the feeling of gratitude; without Alexei, her and Hopper surely would have died in the underground Russian lab at the mall. It seemed liked her and Hopper would drink in his honor. 

Hopper followed Joyce’s gaze to the bottle of Smirnoff. He confirmed her thoughts as he opened the bottle and poured two small shots for the two of them. 

“Thought we might pour some out for our old, Russian road trip buddy. We owe him a lot, you know?” He wore a small smile as he handed her one of the shots. 

She took the shot from his hand and smiled. “I think you’re right.”

As they downed their shots they maintained eye contact. Joyce finished her drink and placed it back on the table. She thought for a moment and let out a soft laugh. 

Hopper frowned, afraid she thought his little tribute was stupid. “What?”

“No, its’ nothing. I just,” Joyce laughed again, a little louder this time. “I thought you’d want to salute Murray more than anyone.”

Silence. Hopper blinked, obvious confusion painted on his face. 

“Because,” she continued, “He was right. Everything he said in the car, he was right about.”

He cleared his throat; memories of that car ride argument flooding his mind. 

“Yeah, he read us like a book, didn’t he?” A nervous chuckle escaped his lips.

Joyce had relaxed considerably since sitting down. Maybe it was the shot, but it was more the confirmation that Hopper shared the same feelings she did. Hopper had never given her reason to doubt his feelings towards her, but she was human and wasn’t immune to bouts of self-doubt. 

However, sitting there with him, she looked forward to the future. Something she hadn’t done in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So, this is my first fanfic ever. I know it's not perfect, so please comment with any suggestions for improvement. Thank you!


End file.
